The September Equinox
by 13Secrets
Summary: After being abandoned within it's depths, there was an urge, an incessant desire to return to the forest. New Moon, Mature.
1. Chapter 1: Mind Games

_No money has been or will be made for the writing of this story. It's all for the fun of releasing plot bunnies! I do not own characters, plots, or situations from Stephanie Meyer's Twilight novels. But I do own this story, my plot, and my ideas :)._

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**Summary: After being abandoned within it's depths, there was an urge, an incessant desire to return to the forest. New Moon, Mature. This is a Bella-centric story with a big twist.**

I've wanted to write this story since the first semester of my last year at university. At that point, I tried publishing it as Magical Memory. I got stuck, a permanent writers block that I couldn't get out of. After years of figuring out the writing style I need to approach this, I've finally got the first set of chapters written.

This will be a long story, but in a series of short vignettes that all tie together fairly seamlessly. I hope you enjoy it!

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**Mind Games**

It was a tricky feeling, being in love with someone who had to lie their way out of a future with you. Having this surety, certainty, that you'd be together forever. Being so confident that, even as teenagers, you'd found the one only to be let down.

And Edward Cullen wasn't just the one. He was an escape to the fantasy of the /not mundane/. He was a light, a guide, and a bit of a savior. He changed her life and everything she'd ever believed in.

It was a future she'd been waiting for, without even knowing it.

Getting herself lost in the forest was done without rhyme or reason. Walking into the dark lushness wasn't for the selfish hope to find him and ask his forgiveness. There was no goal in mind. In fact, Bella's mind left when he did. Her feet became tangled in roots, her knees and arms scratched by branches and brush, until she collapsed beside a broken Douglas fir.

This wouldn't be the last time she'd pass out in the woods behind her house, partway to the Quileute lands.

Bella's mind left, and didn't come back for quite a while.


	2. Chapter 2: Water Torture

_No money has been or will be made for the writing of this story. It's all for the fun of releasing plot bunnies! I do not own characters, plots, or situations from Stephanie Meyer's Twilight novels. But I do own this story, my plot, and my ideas :)._

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**Water Torture**

She woke up to the sound of water dripping onto her face, the cold thuds quickening on her forehead. Her body jolted and shook. She was nearly naked, freezing, and definitely not in Forks.

Reaching to shield herself from the stream of Chinese torture, the top she'd worn to bed fell over her eyes, wound within the loose grip of her fingers. There was no light in the sky above, the glimmers of morning only shown by the stirring of the forest creatures and the echo of raindrops in the distance.

Clumsily coming to a stand, Bella straightened her mud soaked underwear and pulled on the damp, white tank. As she moved in this-no that-direction, she focused on her feet. Not on the cold. Not on the chance that there might be a mountain lion roaming nearby, or an elk in the rut. Or a hiker.

She didn't even think that she might be going the wrong way, or that she could happen upon a camper looking like she'd left a wet t-shirt contest slash sleepover in the woods. She didn't know she looked like death, thick brown streaks coating her back and moss stuck to her hipbones.

She didn't know that she had a trail of heat behind her, a heat that softened the ground beneath her feet.


	3. Chapter 3: Viewing Party

_No money has been or will be made for the writing of this story. It's all for the fun of releasing plot bunnies! I do not own characters, plots, or situations from Stephanie Meyer's Twilight novels. But I do own this story, my plot, and my ideas :)._

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**Viewing Party**

****Sam Uley found the chief's daughter a few times over the next several weeks. Sometimes just outside of town, other times near the Black house, which was quite a few miles away for a human on foot. Always barefoot and often shirtless, the frail body stayed nestled on the forest floor, never in a cave or under protection, awash with moonlight.

The rain was relentless and though he thought to cover her, shield her from a sure cold, he could tell that even with her shivering chest and chattering teeth, she gave off warmth that rivaled his own, but not with fever. He sensed no sickness in the air.

Wildlife avoided her, small herds of deer veering off course and bears lurking away, critters in the trees above spread to surrounding spruce, insects rising from beneath the warm form and into the stiffer soil.

And as Sam gazed from the bushes he also avoided approaching, and tried to keep Paul from enjoying the view _too _much.


	4. Chapter 4: Out of Time

_No money has been or will be made for the writing of this story. It's all for the fun of releasing plot bunnies! I do not own characters, plots, or situations from Stephanie Meyer's Twilight novels. But I do own this story, my plot, and my ideas :)._

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If you're annoyed and wondering why these chapters are so short, don't worry. I'm just pacing the chapters for now-they'll get longer as the story evolves. And thanks to those who've sent me messages with their thoughts... But I'd love reviews :).

**Out of Time**

Scrub, rinse, wipe. Scrub, rinse, wipe. Bella was breathless, anxious, exhausted, and so damn itchy she could barely wash the dishes without using the aluminum pot scrubber on her hands.

Already so damaged, so static and lost, her nightly excursions made it worse. She couldn't sit in sorrow and immerse herself in habits. She couldn't barely survive the day. Starting random days of the week naked int he Olympic Peninsula didn't exactly allow for much wallowing. Instead of waking up in bed fully prepared to remain under the covers through the winter season, she had to trek miles back into the city limits, hopefully before first light, and find a way to K street without being seen by her dad-the only one driving around that early.

This weekend, Charlie had planned a fishing trip and had left for camp right after dinner. She had yet to find herself more than ten miles from home, so the chances that she'd wind up anywhere near the Elwha River, in Port Angeles, were slim.

With the house to herself, and Charlie, Billy, and Harry occupied, Bella figured it was time to call Jacob.


	5. Chapter 5: Hot Boy

_No money has been or will be made for the writing of this story. It's all for the fun of releasing plot bunnies! I do not own characters, plots, or situations from Stephanie Meyer's Twilight novels. But I do own this story, my plot, and my ideas :)._

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**Hot Boy**

Jacob didn't answer the phone. He didn't answer either of the three times she called. So Bella paced.

Her jeans irritated the skin beneath, the air itched her exposed arms, neck, and face. Her socks were too tight. She was altogether uncomfortable.

Bella locked up and ran to her truck, turned the key, and bustled down the street and along the main highway to turn on La Push Road.

The house was as dark as the pouring sky above.

She crossed the neglected lawn and checked the front door before heading to the back porch. Switching on the lights, Bella peered around her second home. By the state of the of the place, it was obviously run by men.

Heading to the tiny back room, she followed the snoring.

Bella hadn't seen Jacob in over a month. Between getting ready for the school year, her birthday, and the following drama, getting down to La Push was the furthest thing from her mind. A week ago, she remembered hearing, he'd gotten a stomach virus.

The virus must have made him age 10 years because the boy from this summer didn't come close to fitting on his bed anymore. His legs hung off the end, and his upper body was scrunched forward on the wooden headboard.

Also, his room felt like a sauna.

She didn't wake him up, only moved to lock the door, the window beside him, and arrange herself beside his huge frame. Being in the 30s outside, the window glass was fogged up.

She laid there, focused on staying conscious, rehearsing how she'd explain her recent nudist habits to her best friend. After a few minutes, Jacob draped an arm around her midsection and touched her bare stomach.

When you scratch a rash, you're sending pain signals to the brain to overwhelm the itch. The heat surrounding Bella drowned out the urge, and she pressed herself closer to his chest, aware that though something was not right, she couldn't find a reason to care.


End file.
